The Shinto Hunter
by Kurisuta
Summary: Ever wonder how they hunt over in the East? Kurai Fushimi took down monsters her whole life from the safety of Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine. But all that changed when demonic activity took away her home. Now she has no choice but to head west, armed with a dream and a prayer. (around season 4)
1. Devastation and Reform

"I said you have to pay for that!" I growled out to the several young women crowding the Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine. I hated their vile attitude; this was, after all, the resting place of Inari, a celestial being, and they were disturbing her peace!

"We want our money back, miko-sama," the older woman said, using the title mockingly. "Our daughters have visited this shrine since they were born and now you refuse to use your powers to find them! They disappeared just down the road! Take your dirty charms and altars to Inari. We just don't believe anymore."

One by one, the demoralized mothers set the charms and altars at my feet. "Wait, you don't know what you're-"

The woman shoved me aside. "Bite your tongue miko. Or the next place we go is the local police. And if you get arrested, well, we all know that there's no one to help you."

With those harsh words, the women in their autumn colored kimonos turned and left. I blinked back tears. How...How could they do this? To my home...to Inari? I cradled the little Inari charm and started to piece together the broken altars, incense bottles, and muddied charms. The darkest part in all of this was that, no matter how much I prayed or meditated on the flames, the closest answer God sent me was that the children still lived. But what was a miko like me supposed to do?

A miko was just a priestess, charged with protecting and embodying the image of the celestial being occupying their shrine. We all had sacred powers, shrouded in secrecy. We could purify evil and officiate weddings and births. Shinto was not a religion, it was a way of life for the people of Japan. It was ruled by painstaking tradition and exact rites. But these days most people in Japan were Buddhist or Christian. I was the latter, and prayed to God, seeing Inari for what she was-a tennyo, which was the Japanese word for 'celestial maiden' or 'angel'. But she was special to me. If not for Inari, enshrined at Fushimi Inari Taisha, then I would have died.

When I was very small, I was able to see things that others couldn't. In America, this might pass for individualism. In Japan, it is unforgivable. Different is shame. My parents were in politics and in the public eye often. One tabloid would have been their downfall. I suppose I understand, to some extent. I was left with the other mikos. My powers developed quickly in the sacred shrine, and I was able to help and protect thousands of people every year without being harmed or mocked.

But this. About a year ago I had woken up, tears falling down my cheeks, from a terrible nightmare. Two men, around my own age, were in battle in a cemetary, and a large catacomb was open. Within was an opening to a fiery abyss-Hell. I had done some severe research, and found that the catacomb was a Hell's Gate. The men-I was still working on that. There were records of them, but each one bore a different name. It took forever to find real names: Sam and Dean Winchester. They were at the core of a lot of the weird goings on in the U.S. lately. They were Hunters. The West's answer to the supernatural threats that I dealt with as a miko on a day to day basis. The difference-they fought, and mikos were pacifists; not allowed to fight.

Ever since I started looking into the dream, the children who attended my shrine began disappearing one by one. I was sure that this was all part of what was happening. I was also sure that something worse was going on now. I hadn't told the women but I had recieved some kind of ransom note. It said simply: 'Destroy the shrine, or the children die.'

Sitting at the desk in the room reserved for the head priest/priestess (me), I glared at the note. "Who do they think they're screwing with?!"

I threw a jar at the wall, but before it could shatter, a young woman wearing a high school girl's uniform caught it. She stood in the doorway, tilting her head and setting the jar gently in its place. "What's wrong Kurai?"

"Oh, Reiko, it's you," I grinned at her. Reiko was a kitsune, a fox spirit, bound to the shrine from its conception. She was like a sister to me. Since the attacks had begun, we were the last ones who remained to care for the giant shrine. Luckily, Reiko was not human, and was able to do things much more quickly than I could. "Have you gotten the stuff I asked for?"

"I didn't like it, Kurai," she looked at me warily. "Miko are supposed to be pacifists."

"And look where it's gotten us!" I glared at Reiko. "Our way of life is dying. We adapt and fight, or we roll over and die!"

I unrolled the scroll, eyes scanning over the ancient kanji sealing weapons and revealing the secrets to sacred rites. "I'm only using a bow. No one will die for this."

"You're a fool to think that way," Reiko replied.

"Five hundred years ago I would have been called a hero," I snapped. "_Watashi wa inari no seinaru yumi o yobi, watashi no jinja o hozon suru ni wa."_

I watched in wonder as a wind burst the inner sanctuary of the temple. On shaky legs, I walked into the place where Inari was enshrined. I shivered at the intense spiritual presence. I looked at the altar, and there lay a large bow and a quiver of arrows. I grinned. Inari wanted me to fight too!

I fell to my knees and thanked God for the gift of Inari's help. Then I put the bow on my shoulder and walked out of Fushimi Inari Taisha.

* * *

><p>Reiko and I rode the Kyoto subway. We weren't sure what we were looking for; at one point I felt a man's hand snake across my thigh, and he got blasted across the train, forgotten. On a busy train, there was no way to tell it had been me. I was able to use my powers, and the crowds made me invisible! It was empowering.<p>

Reiko chuckled next to me. "Poor guy never saw it coming."

The train stopped and the doors opened. I saw a flash of a lacy dress on a little girl as she ran off into an alcove in an unfinshed branch of the subway. It had been quick, but she looked like-Fujiwara Hitomi, the first girl to disappear. I pulled Reiko with me and put a finger to my lips, glad I had tied back my inky black hair, as the idea of getting it trapped in those subway doors really freaked me out.

"Kurai, stop staring at the subway doors like they're gonna eat you and come on!" hissed Reiko, pushing me along.

We edged along the wall, Rei clinging to several ofuda and me clutching the Sacred Bow. The sound of crying children reached my ears, and a man sat in the center of their circle. The evil spirit energy made me sick.

I grabbed an arrow and fired it into the concrete, forcing the man to turn and glare.

"Miko," he smirked. "You finally made it to the party. The shrines in Japan have already begun to fall. Your precious tennyo; where are they?"

"Urusai!" I yelled, not wanting to hear it. "Reiko! Do it already!"

"Hai!" she nodded, holding up the ofuda. "Rin, Pyou, Tou, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen!"

"You're too late! Your Inari's last shrine!" he yelled during our exorcism. "And it burns as we speak!"

Reiko glared at the man. "AKU RYO TAI SAN!"

Black smoke flew from his mouth and the arrow pulled it in and purified it, disentigrating. The bow and arrow vanished.

* * *

><p>After taking the children to the police department, Reiko and I were walking home, when we heard the distant sound of sirens. I looked at her in panic, but she had already broken into a run, although I knew she must be in pain; her spirit was bound there.<p>

I ran after her, tears streaming down my cheeks. I should have just stood my ground! Why was I so rebellious? My home was...was...

I stared at the burning shrine. The firemen didn't seem to care about getting the spirits that were enshrined here out okay. Those idiots!

I ran into the flames, grabbing a bucket of water and running, dripping it on the path in front of me. I ran in recklessly and grabbed the visage of Inari and the scrolls belonging to the shrine. One of these scrolls contained Reiko.

I ran out, and collapsed on the grass. It was over. My home was gone. And I couldn't be a peaceful miko any longer. I had to become a Shinto Hunter and join the Winchesters. Or die trying.


	2. Geisha Angel Squad

**2. Geisha Angel Squad**

I buttoned up my red leather vest over my long sleeved white shirt. It was cold, mid-October in San Francisco, our first U.S. stop. We were trailing a nest of Shibugarasu, a type of crow infused with yoki, or demonic energy. The nasty creatures drilled into the bodies of humans, then sealed them up and used the corpses as puppets while eating the insides.

I pulled out my magenta leather pants and pulled them on, still shivering. "Reiko. Are you almost done with the weapons?"

Said fox was sitting at the desk, removing the last arrowhead from a pile of arrows, which I had already gone to the trouble of purifying. She took the head and wrapped it in ofuda, then loaded it into an adjusted handgun. "You sure you know how to fire a gun, Kurai?"

"Just because it was illegal to carry in Japan," I responded. "Doesn't mean I didn't train in the field."

"So you're using Inari's knowledge to your advantage," Rei completed my unspoken thought. "Are you going to explain to me what happened after you dragged us out of the burning shrine? Oh, and why you were _so _eager to leave Japan on the _next flight_?"

She was speaking fast and clipping her words short in that way she did when she was tense, on the edge of yelling at me. She knew I was keeping something from her. She was right, of course. She may be nine hundred years old, but I was still very protective of the fox demon.

"Explain," she demanded, setting the gun on the table. "You were so adamant on never using firearms. So dependant on the old ways. And now you wanna run in guns blazing?"

I glared at her. "The old ways are what endangered you and Inari and destroyed our home!"

"So where is Inari!" she yelled. "You don't keep her icon anymore. But I still sense her. So I'll ask again: _what have you done?!" _

"What I had to!" I sighed and sat down, running my hand across the red leather of my pants to think of how to break the news. "In the old days, mikos could use the power of the tennyo they represented. Inari offered me this option."

"Impossible," Rei said. "If she was in your body, you wouldn't be talking to me right now."

I rolled my eyes at her. "Miko are trained for this. I was preparing for it all my life. She allows me to be my own person, and she takes control only at my volition, and rarely. She also gives me access to her abilities, to the degree that my limited body can handle, her words, not mine."

Rei sighed. "Well this does solve one problem."

"What's that?" I tilted my head.

"You can't get possessed."

We both shared a rare laugh.

* * *

><p>Sam Winchester stood with his brother in front of a possessed man, who was tied to a chair and inside a Devil's Trap. He began the exorcism. <em>"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus-"<em>  
>"STOP!" shouted a woman, dressed in leather red and white, with black boots and a silver gun that strongly resembled the Colt . "Please you don't know—this place, you can't do this here!"<p>

Another woman, this one a bit taller, with reddish-orange hair, jeans and and a corduroy jacket rushed in hot on the other ones heels. She wasn't armed, but she somehow _looked_ to be the more dangerous of the two.

Sam's trigger happy older brother, Dean, pointed his gun at the first woman. "Are you kidding? Demons have rescue parties? Who the hell are you, anyway?"  
>She glared at him, and Sam thought he could hear a hint of an Asian accent when she responded, "I am the furthest thing from a demon."<br>"Kurai we don't have time!" protested the red-head, and as if in response, the house shook, and there were sounds of birds pecking at the glass and the doors. "Damn I'm glad I laid down a _kekkai_."  
>"You smell any blood?" 'Kurai' asked her companion, kneeling crosslegged in front of the possessed man the Winchesters had been attempting to exorcise. There was still a rifle on her, but either she didn't care, or she cared more about the task at hand.<br>"No, the man is alive; it was probably frozen stiff by her presence," the redhead looked over at her friend, but it seemed to Sam that she was talking about someone within Kurai.  
>"Her?" Dean demanded. "Who the hell are you talking about?"<br>Dean cocked the gun, obviously trying to intimidate her. "Answer the question."  
>"We don't have time," Kurai responded, unmoved by his threats. "Let me save this man and then you will have all the answers."<p>

Dean gave his brother a 'Can you believe this?' look. Sam motioned his brother away from the two women. "They aren't going to stop unless we shoot them. And I don't feel right about shooting them; they haven't done anything. I don't think they can do any harm with us standing right here."

Dean reluctantly lowered the gun with a disapproving grunt.

Meanwhile, Kurai tied back her black hair and pulled an arrow from her black backpack. She stabbed it into the ground in front of the man.

The redhead crouched next to her. "You're going to destroy it from within? That's risky!"

"Reiko, I can do this," Kurai said softly.

_Ah so the redhead is Reiko, _Sam thought to himself. _And the one in charge is Kurai. That's…Japanese. I have to remember to look that up later; maybe we can get last names out of them._

"Dude!" Dean shouted, pulling Sam out of his thoughts.

Kurai had her eyes closed, but the arrow she had her hands on was glowing bright, too bright to look at. "Shibugarasu…tell me one thing. You _stink _of a certain realm of the Makai. _Who sent you?"_

There was an eerie stillness; even the air seemed to be unmoving. Sam watched the man suddenly snap into marionette-like movement. When it spoke, the voice was exactly as he would have expected a crow to sound, croaking and crackly. "Canis sends his regards."

"Chikusho!" Kurai muttered the word, making it sound like a curse. The arrow glowed brighter, forcing the brothers to close their eyes, and Reiko stepped back in front of them, rather protectively.

"Ningen can't handle this kind of purification," the redhead explained, leaving Sam to wonder what the hell a _ningen _was.

"Man, I feel like that mighta been an insult," Dean muttered.

"No kidding," Sam muttered back.

Reiko lit incense and held it, walking around the man and chanting, "Rin, Pyou, Tou, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen!"

"More are coming," the man hissed at her in the crow-voice, writhing in agony from the exorcism. "Canis won't rest till he has you in Hell!"

Kurai stood, cheeks flush with anger. "Aku Ryo Tai San!"

Rather than the black smoke they were used to, a shadow was pulled from the man and into the arrow, which flared, then disentigrated into rays of normal light. As if this was a normal occurance for her, the leather wearing Japanese woman stood and walked over to the man, unbinding the ropes and touching his injuries. She then moved and touched his head, staying there a long while, as if praying.

"What is she doing?" Sam asked Reiko, astounded.

Reiko put a finger to her lips and then responded in a whisper. "She is healing his injuries from the Shibugarasu's possession, and your own exorcism. She is also removing the memories of Shibugarasu or any of his associates, so that the man will have no troubles in the future."

"Why the hell did you stop us?" Dean had obviously been itching for answers. "We coulda done just fine on our own, have been for years, and then you two Geisha walk in and steal our show?"

Kurai walked over before Reiko could yell back at Dean. "Our names are Kurai and Reiko Fushimi. We are miko from Japan. Our shrine was destroyed during the Rising of the Witnesses, and so we have come here. We will explain further when we finish cleaning up this mess. Please remain inside."

She walked out of the warehouse, but something told Sam she was going into battle on her own. "Hey, you aren't just going to let her go out there, are you Reiko?!"

The redhead glared at Sam. "She says stay inside, you'd bet your ass I'll stay inside. When she says that, it means the weapon she's using is too strong for any of us to so much as _look _at and survive."

Sam looked at Reiko incredulously, then over at his brother. It sounded an awful lot like when they had met Castiel a few months ago.

"Just what the hell is going on?" Dean shouted. "You're telling us just to let her walk out with all those other bird-things out there? Even we've never seen em before! How would a girl like that—"

"Because they're Japanese," Sam suddenly realized.

"Dude, racist," Dean stated.

"No, don't you get it?" Sam launched into an explanation. "They came on the scent of that thing and it's nest cuz it's a Japanese creature, what'd she call it?"

"Shibugasaru," replied Reiko. "Corpse Dancing Crow. In peaceful times it lives as the Carrion Crow, scientific name _corvus corone_. When there is an abundant amount of _yoki, _the spiritual energy given off by demons, it poisons the birds, turning them into monsters that feed off the insides of humans after possessing them for a time in order to find a new meal."

Sam was impressed, until he noticed she was reading from a tiny scroll written in kanji.

"Anybody can sound smart if they take notes," Dean muttered.

A that moment there was a bright light outside and then silence—the crows had stopped. Kurai entered, but not without injury. Apparantly she wasn't as strong as she wanted them to think. Her face was lined with exhaustion, like the ritual had physically drained her. Her clothes were torn and there was blood staining them from where the crows had gotten in and pecked at her skin.

Surprisingly, her face lit up in a grin in response to their shock and concern. "Who's hungry?"

* * *

><p>Reiko carried the McDonalds tray over to the Winchesters and Kurai. She still wondered why the miko had lied about them being sisters, and had told the brothers that she, Reiko, was a miko. Although she had no doubts, she knew more than miko did and had posed as one at the shrine before for many years in order to escape from—no, mustn't let her thoughts stray there.<p>

She looked over at Kurai, who had grabbed her large fries and was eating them oh-so-delicately, along with the chicken nuggets. _She's loosening up, at least a little. Good, she's such a tightass. I just hope she's alright after that attack. I know she's just trying to boost morale; she refuses to be coddled. But she must be in pain. Baka Kurai. You know I worry._

Reiko sighed, then jumped as the older Winchester, Dean, threw a French fry at her.

"You gonna eat your burger or just stare at it?" he smirked. "You're so damn quiet."

"I am not," she retorted, throwing the French fry back.

He infuriatingly caught the fry and ate it, then took a huge bite out of a bacon cheese burger that was leaking onions.

She couldn't help but giggle a little. He was so childish! It was annoying, but kind of funny and attractive on him.

_Oh shit, did I really just think of him as 'attractive'? _Reiko shuddered. _No way. _

She irritably unwrapped her burger and ate it right up. She could hear bits and pieces of Sam and Kurai's conversation, but it was mostly about computers and music; she had forbidden them to speak of 'business' in public.

"You have a 1967 Chevy Impala," she stated, trying to contain her excitement. She loved older American cars. In Japan, everything was mass-transit or little tinker toy Vespas. _So _not her style. "That's damn fine taste."

Dean's eyes widened ant his face lit up as he grinned, launching into the details of his favorite subject, his car. Before Reiko knew it, she found herself matching his words and pulled in to an exciting conversation as the two traded automotive secrets.

* * *

><p>I sat down in the motel room, sewing my leather vest back together. <em>Damn those birds got the jump on me. Well hell, now that I'm all healed up and clean from that lovely crap-shower, it's time to own up to the Winchesters. <em>

I slipped the vest back on over a new white shirt. The old one was too bloodstained to be saved. My pants were already on, but I found myself lingering in front of the mirror and brushing my long ebony hair.

_He seemed so fascinated by me, _my mind wandered to thoughts of Sam Winchester. _So many have seen what I can do in Japan but…I don't even get a smile or a thank you. A Japanese woman must be quiet and perfect. But when he looks at me…he's impressed, and he said thank you, and so did Dean. _

_If this is the way of this country…then I will not permit it to be poisoned. I will save it—and I will not fail this time._

I opened the door to the Winchesters' room where they sat with Rei. "I am sorry I was late. It took some time to get cleaned up. We got plenty of stares at McDonalds but…I was also pretty damn hungry, so it was worth it."

Rei grinned and pulled me down next to her, knowing I was a bit shy.

"I'll start at the beginning," I nodded. "We lived our lives at Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine. Neither of us have a last name or family. We are not blood related; that was a lie. I had to be sure you were the real Winchesters. Now I am."

"What gave us away?" Dean said sarcastically, which I ignored.

"I was a miko. Reiko is a kitsune, roughly translated to fox spirit, though she is not a spirit at all. She is a very benevolent supernatural creature, tied to the shrine of Inari, and devoted to the tennyo, not me."

"Wait, Rei isn't human?" Sam asked, looking at us in shock.

"There are many supernatural creatures that are here to help humans, or were once human. As hunters, I am surprised you don't know that."

Rei gave me an encouraging nod, and I continued.

"During the Rising of the Witnesses, a priest from our shrine was possessed by one of those who rose. He stole away many children nearby and there was talk of shutting down our shrine. Rei and I unfortunately took the bait and left the shrine to rescue the children and exorcise the spirit. When we returned, the shrine was on fire. I was barely able to save Reiko and Inari."

The Winchester boys looked at each other guiltily, but said nothing.

"All that time I had been having visions and dreams of the two of you—the Hell's Gate, and Dean's voice from the Makai. Our shrine echoed for weeks, trying to tell us what I now finally understand. Miko are meant for peaceful times. But this is war, and it is the hunter's time. Inari sent Reiko and I here. And believe it or not, you need our help. We know things you can't begin to imagine."

"Why should we trust you?" Dean said, glaring. "You won't let us see your power, and where the hell does power like that come from?"

I grinned at him. "You of all people should know. You've met an angel, ne?"

"What are you saying, Kurai?" Sam looked interested now.

Rei's hand was on my shoulder. "Careful."

"They have to know," I replied. "The stronger angels and humans with strong spiritual power can share a body. Rather than possession, which can hurt a host if extended, 'sharing' means that though she is within my body, she does not take control unless I am okay with it. She is 'dormant' until there is danger."

"And so you just take her word for it?" Dean glared at me. "Seriously?"

I sighed. "I've always been able to do things to an extent, and it wasn't demonic, but spiritual power. That is why I was disowned and given to the shrine. I was given directly to Inari. She's the only parent that matters to me. So yeah, I trust her."

"Fact remains, do we trust you?" Dean continued to glare.

"Dean! She saved our asses twice today can't we just calm down?" Sam berated his brother.

"No because I don't wanna team up with the Geisha Angel Squad," Dean refused to relent.

"Well we could use the backup cuz looks to me we got Hell on our heels!" Sam reminded him. "Apocalypse, remember!"

"Fine," Dean grunted, for the second time that day.

"Are you ladies done?" Rei poked her head in between them. "Cuz Canis is gonna kick our asses if we don't figure out where he plans to throw his next love letter."

"Love letter?" Sam looked at us. I was ready to punch Rei, but she didn't stop there.

"Yeah, Canis is a demon, responsible for starting the werewolf species," Rei smirked. "And he's Kurai's disgruntled ex-lover."


End file.
